A PLAYER-led revolution is calling for the entire Newcastle City and Suburban Cricket Association board to be dissolved so the embattled competition can move beyond months of savage infighting and start afresh, under new leadership.
Warners Bay Cricket Club led a push to call a special general meeting where members want to test a vote of no-confidence in the board.
In a significant show of disapproval, almost half of the competition's clubs, which represent 50 of 110 teams, have signed a petition calling for a special general meeting to be held.
Andrew Kelly, who was forced to stand down as Warners Bay Cricket Club president when he was controversially sacked as NCSCA secretary in December, said 30 of about 70 clubs had signed the petition.
"Pretty close to half of the competition has signed on and I think more would, but under the constitution you only need 10 per cent support to call a special general meeting," he said. "This is a clear message that people are not happy with what is going on. There are a lot of issues and for the sake of the game and the competition we need a clean slate."
The letter was submitted to the NCSCA board on Thursday night by Warners Bay Cricket Club's secretary David Absalom and treasurer Peter Lewis.
NCSCA president Phil Northey told the Herald on Friday that he was unable to comment.
"I just found out about this and it's with the solicitor," Mr Northey said. "I will be making no comment at all at the moment."
The petition is the culmination of a battle which has raged for months between two factions amid allegations of bullying, financial mismanagement, lack of transparency and a string of controversial suspensions handed to board members and players.
The clashes are between the old powers that have been running the game for years, and a power bloc pushing for greater financial and administrative transparency.
In recent months, the bitter internal free-for all has played out in the boardroom, the judiciary and on social media, resulting in four board members who were part of the faction pushing for change - Andrew Kelly, Daniel Saunders, Grant Hutchings and Roy Capitao - being sacked from the board and handed lengthy playing suspensions.
Mr Saunders was banned for life from the board and given an 18-month playing ban for commenting in an ugly private Facebook conversation in March in which derogatory comments were allegedly made about a board member and their family.
Mr Hutchings received a five-year ban from the board for participating in the chat, a hard copy of which was leaked to the board. He was banned from playing for the rest of the season.
Another NCSCA director, Roy Capitao, was barred for two years in August for allegedly accessing the fuel allowances of directors and last week received a second lengthy ban for involvement in the Facebook chat.
Mr Kelly was banned for life from the board and five years from playing for using a false name to try to access information about the association's Bunnings account.
The former board members believe they have been "targeted" for asking too many questions about directors' spending, an allegation Mr Northey strongly denies.
The board's treasurer, Dave Crawford, resigned earlier this month over the "processes and transparency of how the finances in the NCSCA were being managed".
Nic Bates was handed a 12-month suspended sentence from playing and two-year ban from being a board member over his involvement in the Facebook chat. He has no plans to appeal.
"I got what I deserved," he said. "I was a part of it and I don't really have anything further to say about it."
The Newcastle Herald reported last week that Country Cricket NSW has agreed to hear appeals lodged by Mr Kelly and Mr Saunders. Mr Capitao also plans to appeal.
Under the association's constitution, the board has 30 days to call a special general meeting and must give members 14 days notice.
"The purpose of this special general meeting is to call for a vote of no-confidence in the current board of management and thus dissolving the current board of management of the NCSCA," the letter reads.
"Cricket NSW will provide administrative support until such time as an election can be called for a new board of management of the NCSCA."
The letter states that if the board does not call the meeting with 30 days, members who have signed the petition will.
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